Sony Ericsson has launched its PS3 compatible mobile phone Aino in the UK, reports Gamesindustry.biz. The Aino is designed to operate functions and access content from a PS3, much like the PSP, but do so through the phone network in addition to wi-fi. The phone is retailing in the UK for more than $600.
Sony says remote play functionality for Aino over 3G networks is possible, but it still hasn t confirmed which carriers will enable it.
Read more at Gamesindustry.biz.
Jack Black was the featured celebrity in Mike Snider’s latest ‘Celebrity Gamer Profile’ for USA Today. Naturally Black was there to plug the recently released game that has his name in the marquee, Brutal Legend. Black has game savvy, as someone who started playing arcade classics, and his experience reflects his LA upbringing. He says a burrito shop was the first place he ran into an arcade game sitting next to pinball machines. The rest of America might better relate with bars and pizza places.
This is the second feature of its type from Snider, the original being a profile of Seth Rogan back in March. Marketers pushing celebrity-infused games take note, USA Today may have the perfect PR opportunity for you.
Read more at USA Today.
JJ Richards, GM of Massive, breaks down the argument for in-game ads into a patriotic proposition. If asked if they like taxes, people will say no. If the question is changed to whether they like living in the U.S., which most know taxes heartily, their answers change.
Talking to Ars Technica, Richards says his company has changed the question when it comes to asking gamers about in-game ads. Research at Massive focuses less on the broad question and more on discovering where ads would be acceptable. They put gamers in environments where a lack of ads would shatter the game’s sense of realism, for instance Times Square in New York, and found gamers change their stance quickly. Richard says the key to successful in-game advertising is managing ad placement so it enhances the experience. It s something Massive feels so strongly about they ve turned down clients when their brand didn t fit a game.
Read more at Ars Technica.
After a spate of ads that tried to leverage the doom and gloom of the recent economic downturn, advertisers are changing their tune to optimism. Reported by NY Times, recent ads are choosing to harvest consumer optimism for an American turnaround over the daily realism that the economy is still in the dumps. The move is exemplified by spots for GE, Bank of America and Levis, among others.
Read more at NY Times.
Researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark are exploring the effects of games that adapt to players, reports New Scientist. They believe that adaptive games that recognize a player’s skill level or game play style, then adjust accordingly, will enhance the experience. To prove their point, the researchers jerry-rigged Super Mario Brothers to vary difficulty such as enemy frequency and length between gap jumps. They then tested two versions of the game to find user frustration levels with the harder version.
The test as described by New Scientist seems simple, and the results obvious. The adaptive game concept might be interesting to any game marketer or executive who has argued for better difficulty balancing and some degree of handholding to help sell a game to mainstream players. This might also sound familiar to said marketer/executive. As a professor from Georgia Institute of Technology tells New Scientist, there will be resistance to the concept from the artists.
Read more at New Scientist.
Financial services and media giant Bloomberg is acquiring BusinessWeek magazine from publisher McGraw-Hill. As reported by MarketWatch, financial terms weren’t disclosed but the deal is estimated to be in the $2-5 billion range. The publisher had put BusinessWeek up for sale this summer, citing a big decline in ad sales.
BusinessWeek claims 4.8 million readers in 140 countries. Bloomberg sees the magazine, and no doubt the venerable BusinessWeek brand, strengthening its offering of financial news through print, web and online.
Read more at MarketWatch.
Researcher Forrester is releasing a report suggesting a radical shift in company marketing infrastructure to respond to the digital revolution. Reported by Ad Age, Forrester’s “Adaptive Brand Marketing: Rethinking Your Approach to Branding in the Digital Age” suggests a key change in renaming and altering the role of the brand manager to become brand advocate . It calls it a direct response to the changes brought on by digital media, enabling the brand role to be much more agile in creating media partnerships and consumer-centric in their approach. Forrester also cites the ever growing importance of analytical data in market research, predicting that companies will seek marketers who are better trained in number crunching.
The report breaks down the shift into tactics for companies, exploring the change, looking at challenges, and even breaking down what skill sets to look for in this brave new marketer. Read more at Ad Age {link no longer active}.
Alternate reality games continue to make headlines as the next frontier for entertainment and marketing, and the iPhone seems to be the platform of choice. CNET has taken a spin with a promotional iPhone app for the upcoming apocalyptic action film 2012. They see the ARG as taking the experience to another level. One nifty feature: incorporating the ability to make live calls from a player’s contact list for help with clues in the game.
As iPhone developers see it, 2012 and other ARG apps are just the beginning. As the devices keep improving in tech and features, designers will keep exploring how to leverage this new gaming platform and mode of game play. CNET sees it as the evolution of entertainment on smart phones.
Read more at CNET.
Gamestop director Leonard Riggio has reduced his stake in the video game retailer, reports Gamesindustry.biz. The story first appeared in Bacons, pegging profit taking by Riggio at $60 million on 2.3 million shares sold last week. Riggio still holds a 5.5 percent stake in the company with 9.1 million shares.
Analysts are giving mixed reactions. An analyst from Form4Oracle told Barron’s the move is an ominous sign for Gamestop. He notes that Riggio also held retail stock in the company he chairs, Barnes & Noble, but chose to sell Gamestop. Wedbush Morgan Securities Michael Pachter counters that notion, telling GI.biz that Gamestop’s business is sound and preparing for a sales rebound in games.
Read more at Gamesindustry.biz.
The number of perfect scores from major press is one of the most striking things about the Metacritic score chart for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. At the time of this post Sony s PS3 game has more than 50 reviews averaging out to a score of 97 percent, without a single outlet scoring it below 90 percent. Its average score already put it at number fourteen on Metacritic s all-time list, flanked by heavyweights Super Mario Galaxy and Metal Gear Solid 2.
The game s score earned it Metacritic’s universal acclaim tag, which happens to aptly describe the reviews. There’s almost universal praise for game play, storyline and presentation in Sony’s game. Check out the reviews through Metacritic.
